The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. While the EDVAC computer system was a significant scientific accomplishment for 1948, it was so big that it took up 500 sq. ft of floor space and included 3,500 vacuum tubes. Since that time, computer systems have become so small and so powerful that they have found their way into just about every aspect of the American life style. Computer systems are found in devices as common as the ordinary television set and in devices as complex as space shuttles.
Some of the more recent uses of computer systems have been brought about by the advent of the touch screen. Touch screen technology allows the computer user to enter information into the computer through the display screen itself. Before touch screen technology, computer system users were forced to enter information through the use of a keyboard or other similar device. While this method worked fine in an office environment, it made it more difficult to incorporate computer systems into smaller environments like automobiles and cockpits.
Today, touch screens have become so popular that they, like computer systems themselves, can be found just about anywhere. For example, touch screens are used in automobiles and on automatic teller machines (ATMs) and other kiosk type devices. There is, however, one significant problem with touch screens; they get dirty. The combination of the visual output of information and the "hands on" input of information is an inherent cleanliness problem. Nowhere is this problem more apparent than in the case of a public kiosk. Kiosks placed in shopping malls and outside of fast food restaurants are constantly in need of a good cleaning.
To the kiosk owner, this general sanitary concern quickly becomes an economic one. While many people would think nothing of using a public phone, they might well hesitate to use a touch screen that looked "greasy and grimy." Public disdain for a grimy touch screen amounts to lost profits for the kiosk owner.
Because of these sanitary and economic concerns, kiosk owners pay large sums of money to maintenance personnel to keep their kiosks from becoming dirty and unappealing to the public. 0f course, this is really an unfortunate situation given that the primary reason for having a kiosk in the first place is to reduce the kiosk owner's expenses.